Slovakia

On our drive to Budapest we stopped in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. Out tour director gave us some history about it and we had some free time. We HAD to stop at the Mayer Café since I was still legally a Mayer. And then it happened…it started to rain! And hard! We held up in a little shop across from the café but the rain wasn’t going to let up. Ashley said she wasn’t going to let some rain stop her from seeing at least some of the city so we rolled our pants up and headed out. We were able to get some pictures but didn’t get to explore too much (dang umbrella was in my suitcase). I was kind of disappointed because it did look like a quaint little town. We headed back to our meeting point and loaded the bus for Budapest!

had a yummy treat here!

we both just loved the black and white facade of this building! 

And I saw this article that Slovakia is one of the hidden treasures of Europe! It really is a pretty little town, wish we could have spent more time there. 

Prague, the city of hundred spires

{Prague Castle}

Prague is where I had planned to meet my two lovely Norwegian ladies Kjersti and Cecilie! We got there and I immediately called them and we planned to meet after dinner since we had already paid for it in our tour price. And we took the subway into the heart of the city and saw the Astronomical Clock and had a MASSIVE mojito! So big we all shared it! Then the next day on our tour we went to St. Vitus Cathedral which is located in the Prague Castle, it was very beautiful! We did an excursion to see the insides of some of the famous homes and see where Mozart had once preformed. On our way back to the town center to meet up with the girls were we passed Prague Fashion Week which was kind of neat and then we did a little walking around and a little shopping. We headed across Charles Bridge to get these really yummy treats called trdelnik! They were worth the long walk! We had had lunch/dinner in a British Pub and by night time we were hanging out at the hotel and having some drinks. Then we had to say our goodbyes :( it was sad but I was so happy that I got to see them!

{Huge Mojito!}

{yummy trdelnik!}

On a side note, every time we made a pit stop on while traveling we always stopped at a McDonald's! This really made me and Ashley mad because we didn't come all this way to have McDonald's. Well we asked the reason for this and our tour guide told us that since the Communist had moved out (about 10yrs ago) the only people willing to build there was McDonald's so we had no other choice for breaks…ugh, okay I guess.

{me and my Norsk friends!}

Willkommen to Munich, Germany

{Glockenspiel clock}

So while back when my husband was still my boyfriend we went to an authentic German restaurant and they had this fun couple that played the crazy instruments and yodeled. Well they offered this tour trip to Germany and Austria and it got my travel bug moving again! So I asked him if he wanted to go, I would pay for us to go, and he said no (I’m sure every man knows why, ‘you don’t want to let your girlfriend pay for you’ silly!). So I said fine, and I offered to repay Ashley and her family by taking her on a Trafalgar trip! So we researched which trip we wanted to go on and picked the right dates and in October of 2009 our trip for Europe in September of 2010 was planned! You know me; I plan in advance…WAY in advance! A lot happened in between then and the trip. My boyfriend and I got engaged and then married and 11 days after that he donated a kidney to his dad. So in reality this trip, if he had let me pay, would have made a wonderful honeymoon but that’s not how the story goes…and Ashley’s wedding was just a month and half after we would get back.

After a long flight we land in Germany an hour before our plane was due! I give big props to our pilots! But the Trafalgar bus was to be there 2hrs after our original landing time was suppose to be, so now we have 3hrs till the bus comes. We decide to bit the bullet and pay the 60€ taxi ride to our hotel. Luckily our room was ready and we had time to take a nap before our tour meets for the first time. We got some rest and freshened up and headed down to meet our group, we then got on the bus for our drive around Munich. We really didn’t get to see much, we went to Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel clock and we decided to grab some food here since there weren’t any places that looked interesting near our hotel. We just had some pasta because it was cheap and looked pretty good and we stood to eat, I guess they don’t want people lingering in the restaurant for too long (thanks for the hint). Then we met up with our group and headed back to the hotel for our official “meet and greet” and our free German beer!

{on the road again}

The next day was the same; we drove around and saw the Olympic park and BMW headquarters and then we were off into the country side headed for Prague, Czech Republic. On our drive there we saw many hops farms and we stopped in the town of Nuremberg where we walked around the market that was going on and we bought our first real souvenirs (a floral wreath and other small things). And there was Schöner Brunnen (English: Beautiful Fountain) next to the Frauenkirche at Hauptmarkt, legend says if you touch the gold ring on it then you will be blessed with fertility! HAHAHA, I told Ashley that I wasn’t going to touch it because the last time I touched something in Europe (Verona) I found what it said I would find! :P

{Schöner Brunnen}

Way up North

this is love: a few days after surgery

Why would you want to spend your official honeymoon in Minnesota you ask? Well my husband was donating a kidney to his father 11 days after our wedding. What a wonderful man I have chosen. Some background here, in the fall of 2009 my husband found out that he was finally going to be able to help his dad by donating a kidney. And before this was going to happen he said he wanted to get married just in case the worst happened (which has never happened at the Mayo Clinic by the way). 

So after our May 2010 wedding we headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for the operation. What a nice little town! We enjoyed all the sights they had there and once his dad was feeling up to it we took a trip to La Cross, Wisconsin where we took a ride on the mighty Mississippi! This ride was a big deal for me; I got to see Bald Eagles in their natural habitat! I had never seen them in the wild before! It was quite nice, we packed a picnic lunch and then found a homemade ice cream shop with homemade everything…even soda (not as good as coca cola). Had lunch and desert on the Mississippi and watched the barges and tug boats go by. And on the drive back to MN I had to drive in this awful storm, honestly some of the most intense driving I have ever had to drive through. While we were there we stayed at The Gift of Life House where you have to be either donating or receiving to stay there. What a place to recover! So peaceful and clean and for only $25 a night. We left about a week after surgery, I was so glad to be home and have my little Lola (dog) back home with us too!

my eagle!

Another Alien on Broadway

Ah….NYC! One of my study abroad mates was doing a semester internship at company in NYC.  So naturally Amanda and I had to plan a trip! The perfect time to go? Labor Day (2009) weekend and Amanda’s birthday. So we book the flights and to save some money we stay at a hostel. Charlotte had taken an internship in the city so we planned a little trip, Lene decided to start her American vacation then too! We got there and made it to our hostel, settled in and headed to Charlotte’s work to have some lunch and wonder around the city (she didn’t get off till later). So we went to Central Park and walked around there a lot and took little breaks to enjoy the view. We thought about going into the zoo but we are glad we didn’t because you know they had in there…cows and horses…we see that stuff all the time here in Texas, not impressed New York. We met up with Charlotte and went to Time Square to see the night life. We went to a hotel that had a spinning restaurant on top so we could see the entire city. We had some drinks and snacks before heading back.

The next day we went to Rockefeller Plaza to go to the “Top of the Rock”, Lene couldn’t come because she was sick (maybe a little hung over but she ended up getting really sick). We walked down to Wall Street and Ground Zero, walked to the harbor to see the view of the Statue of Liberty, and then we took the subway to Hoboken, New Jersey. Hoboken is the home of Carlo’s Bakery (TLC’s Cake Boss) OMG their treats were so good! We each got a little box of goodies and sat outside on a bench to enjoy our treats. We headed back to the city that never sleeps and got ready for dinner. We went to this super cute Norwegian inspired restaurant in SoHo and Lene came too even though she was feeling under the weather. YUM!

And then….we go out on the town! We are literally walking the streets looking for an acceptable bar for us to go to and we run into some guys from Flushing, Queens (yes, like in The Nanny haha). They take us to a club which costs $20 for us to get in, at a discount *rolling my eyes* whatever, discount my ass. Anyway, we go in there and they are buying us drinks and shots but all I do is sit and text my boyfriend at home (you know you’re in love when you’re in a NYC night club and all you do is text your bf :) *romantic sigh*). Amanda ends up making out with one of these guys and gets his number….unfortunately we need to head home because…well someone had a little too much fun. 

We are getting into a cab some other guys start hitting on us and we turn them down so they decide to call us hookers and open the cab door! HOLY SHIT!!!! SO the taxi driver gets out and gets them away and locks our doors and takes us back to our hostel…crazy night!

Sunday night we don’t really have any plans so we walk to Charlotte’s new apartment for the fall and walk around the park some more and walk into the National Museum of History (Night at the Museum).  Grab some lunch and head back to change for dinner. We had planned to go to Serendipity’s for dinner but nobody wanted to leave super early and the line was 2hrs long so we went to this Italian place across the street. Then we went to Dylan’s Candy Bar and had some ice cream and candies. Charlotte, Lene and I decided that we just wanted to stay in tonight since we had a flight back to Houston and Charlotte was moving into her new place; so I bought some magazines on the way home for us to read and gossip about. 

Bon Voyage New York! 

The end of a Roman Holiday

On the drive back to Rome we make a quick stop in Siena for some lunch and to take in some sights. We didn’t venture too far b/c we were only there for an hour or so. I do remember that our meeting point was right next to a mental health facility and I wasn’t too comfortable with that, LOL. This was also the place where we walked into a bathroom to find a toilet and chair! Just in case you need moral support or something??? Then we were back on the bus headed for Rome.

goodbye Rome! goodbye Italy!

We stayed closer the airport this time but drove back into the city for our arrivederci dinner and wine. It was full of fun and laughter. It was also New Years Eve! All of us “younger” people (the 20 somethings) wanted to go back into Rome to a club but since we all had to be at the airport very early to catch our flights and the taxi ride alone was going to cost 50€ a person it was just too much…so we partied in the hotel. And boy did we party :) 

Welcome 2009!

airport...woot!

We didn’t get much sleep but we made it to the airport with PLENTY of spare time and I needed some crackers (I wasn't feeling too good) but we couldn’t find any. So Ashley found me some cookies that read ‘digestive’ I was like, “what the hell?” lol but it was the only thing she could find so I had that and some water.

We got on the plane and headed home to Houston! We met her parents at the airport and hit the closet Whataburger and then made the drive back to Spring Branch/Bulverde….ah what memories!

yum!

Pisa, Florence, and SanGimignano

From Lake Maggiore we stop in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower and Baptismal. What a POS city! The only thing that is there and that it is known for is an engineering failure!!! Haha, would it be as famous if it wasn’t falling? Probably not! Again we had to watch ourselves with all the beggars and gypsies everywhere! We had lunch in a little pizza place and waited around for the bus…really not a lot to see in the shanty town! On to Florence!!!

We get to our hotel in Florence and it’s so cute, it has a nice quad thing going on! We head to the streets as group for some Tuscan cuisine, yum! And it was SO good! Then it’s back to the hotel for some sleep. The next day our schedule is packed! We see the Cathedral, Signoria Square and a visit to Santa Croce Basilica. Later, we enjoyed a panoramic view from Piazzale Michelangelo and then we had some free time. We went into a high quality leather making shop where Ashley bought an authentic, leather, Italian purse! While in Florence we also saw the Statue of David! And I have to say, what a marvelous piece of work! We skipped most of the museum tour to just stare at him, how could you not? The amount of detail and size, spectacular! I felt like I could run my fingers through his hair; that’s how real it looked! Florence was also the place where we decided had the best pizza in Italy! It was a restaurant right behind the leather shop. We just had something normal, cheese and pepperoni or something but it was SO good! Maybe it was the crust and all the ingredients were natural! YUMMY!!! On our last night in Florence Federica took us to this restaurant where the owner would inter act with you. If you ordered something that wasn’t his favorite he would scoff at you, same if you ordered meat well done (that’s not how they do it in Itaila!). He would also make “looks” at the ladies when they danced or if their clothes were a little too revealing :P

in San Gimiganano

While in Tuscany we also take a day trip to a town called San Gimignano (jimmy-yan-oh) and what a cute little town it is! As we walk around Ashley sees a sign for a Torture Museum and says, “I’ve seen enough churches! Let’s go to the Torture Museum!” I laughed and went in. Talk about some sick mother effers back in the day! Glad I didn’t live back then! This town also has the Gelato parlor that was voted best Gelato in Italy…but is was closed for family vacation and renovation, it was December after all. 

Florence in the background